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Top med techs: AP lab-errors report accurate

Emergency Management Alert, October 8, 2007

This week news outlets ran an Associated Press report on needlesticks, bites, and other accidents occurring in U.S. laboratories that deal with lethal substances. The story, "U.S. Labs Mishandling Deadly Germs," highlighted details of confidential reports submitted to federal regulators noting incidents involving anthrax, bird flu virus, monkeypox and plague-causing bacteria at 44 labs in 24 states. In one case, a ferret inoculated with bird flu bit a technician; in another, a technician broke a vial containing encephalitis virus.
 
"It may be only a matter of time before our nation has a public health incident with potentially catastrophic results," Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee, told the AP. Stupak leads a panel investigating the lab incidents.

Noting immediately that no hospital labs were mentioned, we put out feelers to two of our experts in that sector to see if what was described in the featured reference labs, research labs, and public health labs, was an issue in their labs. In a word, yes.

"It is unsettling to hear of these incidents," said Martha Casassa, MT (ASCP), MS, CLD (NCA), laboratory director at Braintree Rehabiliation Hospital in Braintree, MA. "However, I believe similar events (with lower potential for general harm) occur even more frequently throughout the healthcare and research lab industry due to human error. Probably the most important piece of prevention is training and education about safety and the criticality of reporting and follow-up." Casassa notes, "The Canadian Public Health Agency, Office of Laboratory Safety has moved to address these concerns with their MSDS for infectious substances. Perhaps we in the United States should do the same to safeguard our workers and the general population."

Lab safety expert and consultant Terry Jo Gile, MT (ASCP), MA Ed. said, "This article refers to laboratories outside the sphere of the hospital but it does not mean that those in hospital-based labs should not take this as a warning. The old saying 'safety never takes a holiday' certainly applies here." Gile said she created special sections in her books Complete Guide to Laboratory Safety, Second Edition (HCPro, 2007) and Lab Safety Training Made Simple (HCPro, 2006) in response to reader demand for information and training in shipping and handling of dangerous substances.

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